Episode 2: Grimm

"You guys seriously eat this?" Weiss said as she lifted the dripping slop with her spoon. Everyone else was busy shovelling the strange porridge like food into their mouths. Pyrrha was the first to clear her throat and respond, "We don't have a lot of fresh produce on the ship. This stuff is mostly protein with a few spices here and there; it's not too bad though." Weiss grimaced as she took a bite, suspecting a bitter taste. Instead it tasted a sweet, as if garnished slightly with honey, and it had similar texture to porridge. She chewed slowly, everyone slowing to watch her reaction. She gulped down the food and nodded thoughtfully, "not anywhere near as bad as I thought." Her response eliciting a series of smiles around the table.

"How long till we reach Sanders?" Ruby looking to Jaune for an answer. He finished his mouthful and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "sixteen or so hours, we have one more jump to make. Do you know if they have any repair stations down on Sanders? We could be making better time but with that broken fuel line we are adding a few hours to any trip."

"I doubt it, haven't heard much from Ren but it sounds like a very basic border colony." Pyrrha chimed in next to Jaune, grabbing a few empty bowls as she left the table. "Guess we will have to wait until Vale for any repairs. Should have enough for them though if Ren comes through with the payment," Ruby said before also rising to take her empty plate in,

"Is Weiss stepping off at Sanders?" Blake finally speaking up. Her eyes never left Ruby, totally ignoring the white haired girl. Weiss went to speak but was interrupted by Ruby, "didn't you hear Pyrrha, sounds a tad less civilised than what Weiss would be comfortable with."

"So where is she getting off?" Blake now looking accusingly at Weiss. Once again before Weiss could answer she was cut off, this time by the sounds of plates clattering loudly against the sink. Everyone looked to Ruby who stood over the sink with staring daggers at Blake. "Hey Blake how about you and I go deliver some of this to Yang. I imagine being shot like that builds ones appetite."

For a moment Blake just stared back silently, then she slowly rose up and filled an empty plate. She left the room, Ruby following a few steps behind, silence having fallen on the rest of the table.

Ruby and Blake made their way down to the infirmary, no words were spoken, no glances exchanged. They reached Yang, who was still a bit drowsy, but happily accepted the food. "You guys alright, your not looking at each other, and are both doin' the whole grumpy face thing." Yang said as her eyes quickly jumped back and forth between them. Blake grumbled something underneath her breath, to which Ruby only seemed to frown more at. Yang cleared her throat to grab their attention, "Usually I would leave the room and let you guys talk it out, but, you know, not really feelin' like movin'." Blake stormed out of the room at this, Ruby grumbling and following behind her. Yang just sighed as she started eating.

"Blake! What is going on, what's with all the bitchiness?!" Ruby not being able to hold it in any more. Blake spun in response, frown firmly etched on her face,

"What is with you and just letting that girl ride around for free?!"

"It's not free, she patched up Yang and this is her payment!" Ruby crossing her arms,

"But she isn't going anywhere, she is just tagging along! We don't know who she is, I mean you dragged her off the streets while she was being chased! Ruby I think she is a threat to the ship."

"Speak up then, what's the problem," Ruby wheezing in frustration.

"I think she is the daughter, the heiress, of the Schnee's."

"You mean the drug company?"

"Yeah, the one that did all those experiments on Faunus patients."

Ruby sighed, rubbing her forehead in a look of irritation, "So this is all just a personal grudge thing, well you are gonna have to get over it."

"It's not that! I have dealt with the Schnee's in the past, back when I ran with Adam. They are bad news Ruby, her being here paints a target on all of us. So we should just drop her off and distance ourselves."

"We are not doing that. So what if she has a bad history, so what if it comes after us. I didn't turn you away, when you came from a group of fairly unsavoury characters that maybe wanted to hunt you down. Sound familiar?" Ruby's face softened, her voice returning to her normal volume. "Blake, this ship, it's our little slice of freedom. I don't turn away those who need it, and from what I have seen, Weiss needs a little freedom. Plus, with our luck I think a doctor may come in handy." Ruby leaned forward and hugged Blake, "So please, play nice." With that Ruby skipped back down the hallway. Blake just shook her head, that girl was a mystery, cold captain one minute and cheerful friend the next. She would play nice, for Ruby's sake alone.

Weiss leant back against the cold steal of the wall, taking in the conversation she had just overheard. They knew who she was, it didn't come as a surprise that they would figure it out, she had just wished it hadn't been so soon. Blake had only voiced Weiss' own fears, she didn't want her troubles chasing this crew. They were good people, well, maybe not 'good', but they were not necessarily bad people. The only thing that gave her stop, was that Ruby had defended her. A woman she had met only a day ago, sounded as if she trusted her completely, and was willing to fight for her.

Weiss turned to leave and return to her quarters when she heard the soft sound of music. It sounded like it was coming from the cockpit, and so Weiss followed the sound. She walked past the crew quarters and stepped up into the cockpit, where Jaune sat with feet up on the control panels, strumming a guitar softly. Pyrrha laid back in the co-pilot's seat, eyes closed and listening to Jaune playing. Weiss just sat in the entrance, listening to the song. After a second Jaune noticed her and jumped a little, missing a chord. Pyrrha's eyes opened and both stared at her, Weiss took a step a back and apologised, "Oh, sorry for interrupting. I was just… I heard it down the hall and came to see what was happening."

Jaune sat up and took his feet off the console, brushing down the area where his feet where. Pyrrha too sat up straighter. "Oh, no worries, sorry about that, we just had some down time. Ship does most of the work on the long runs."

"We just like being up here to watch the stars, and too keep an eye on things, just in case." Pyrrha smiling in a friendly manner. Weiss returned the smile, although hers was the well-practiced smile of a child who grew up in the limelight. Pyrrha didn't notice the insincerity, and Weiss didn't mean it in any negative way, it was just reflex. "Soooo," Jaune interrupting the slightly awkward silence, "any idea where you want to get off. Vale is a pretty nice place, nothing like Atlas of course, but its plenty more civilized than Sanders." Pyrrha shot Jaune a glare, which Jaune remained completely oblivious too.

"I'm not sure, to be entirely honest I just want distance from Atlas," Weiss responding honestly,

"Why is that?" Jaune missing another, harsher glare, from Pyrrha. Weiss sighed, resting against the wall, "I just want something new. Get away from a lot of bad memories."

"Well sounds like you will fit in perfectly here. Everyone here is all, secret pasts and badass stories." Jaune finished with a chipper smile.

"And it's their business if they want to talk about them," Pyrrha hastily interrupting Jaune before he went any further. "But as he was saying, I do believe you will fit in fine here. If I know the captain I believe she may be offering you a place here, as long as you need it."

"That's very kind of her, but why? I'm just some stray she picked up," Weiss shuffling awkwardly at the kind words. Pyrhha smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder, "That's how we all started, and look at us now."

"Yeah we eat grey slop and play guitar poorly." Jaune smiling from his seat, taking Pyrrha's other hand in his. Weiss cringed slightly at the display, not comfortable with overly affectionate, or even just physical, displays.

"Well, yes then. I'm going to go back to my room." Weiss shuffling out of the room as she spoke. Jaune and Pyrrha smiled and continued their oddly affectionate display. They made an odd couple by Weiss' estimations, Pyrrha seemed to be Ruby's second, a confident and intimidating woman. Jaune on the other hand was arguably the most socially awkward person Weiss had ever met. Well, maybe socially awkward was not the exact term, but he did need to learn some tact.

Weiss was intercepted on her way down to her quarters. Ruby came strutting down the hallway. Her face lit up as she looked to Weiss, "hey there, everything okay?"

"Yes, I was just making my way back to my quarters." Weiss and Ruby now having stopped in the hallway, both in each other's way. They both made moves to get past the other, each time bumping into each other awkwardly. Eventually Weiss pushed past, not a fan of the pedantic dodging. Having taken three steps away from Ruby she heard her voice again, "Oh, Weiss, wait up." Ruby bounding over to be in front of Weiss again, "Yang said she was feeling better, she's pretty set on getting back to more 'active' duty."

"And?" Weiss said as she continued trying to get past Ruby, who was now keeping pace in front of Weiss by walking backwards.

"Well I was just wondering if you could do a quick check up to see if she is good to go." Ruby titling her head in question, Weiss just sighed and stopped.

"Alright I can do that. Let's get it out of the way." With that Ruby dragged Weiss down towards the infirmary.

Yang stood on the far side of the room, lazily poking and scratching at her bandages. Weiss sighed as she approached, "Please stop that, I would rather not have to redo all the stitching and bandaging."

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. These things are just so damn itchy."

"Anyway, how do you feel? Anything besides itchiness?"

"I'm a little stiff, but aside from that I think I'm pretty shiny." Yang finishing with a surprised jolt as Weiss ran her hands around the wound, her cold fingers inspecting the wound closely. "Careful there Ice Queen, Ruby might get jealous," she sneered as Weiss scowled at her. Ruby stood up straight from her position, leaning on the door frame of the infirmary. "Get your mind out of the gutter Yang," Ruby using her most commanding voice.

"I don't think it's my mind that's in the gutter sis. I mean sure she is cute, but if Blake is right about her, and she's not paying…" Yang looking accusingly at Ruby, who in return crossed her arms,

"We have worked that out, and she's here because we owe her for you needing a fix up." Weiss stood up at this her arms flexed by her sides, fists clenched in annoyance, "You know I'm right here!" Both Ruby and Yang raised their arms defensively and took a step back. Weiss turned to face Yang, "You should be fine to go back to doing… What exactly do you do for the ship?"

"She gets shot a lot," Ruby chiming in from behind Weiss. Yang feigned offence,

"I do a lot more than that, I happen to be quite the people person," yang raising her chin in an effort to look more respectable. Weiss just raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "I'm sure you are," affecting her most sarcastic tone, before strutting out of the room. Ruby chuckled as she watched Weiss go, following behind her after poking her tongue at Yang.

"Your still following me?" Weiss hearing Ruby's footsteps behind her,

"Just wanted to ask if you wanted to head out when we hit planet side?"

"I doubt there is much to see so I will likely stay in my quarters." Weiss now having reached the sliding door of her room. She opened and closed it quickly, managing to just stop Ruby from casually following her inside. Ruby stopped abruptly as the door slammed shut, "Oh, ok I will leave you to, uh sleep, or whatever."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, well, just ladies. We are about two minutes away from making landfall." Jaune spoke into the mike attached to his command console, careful not to lose focus on his flying. He heard Ruby talking to Yang as she moved into the cockpit, "Go get Blake, you might need a hand with all the cargo, Ren will need help distributing it as well."

"Aw but that's so boring,"

"It's the job, and please no shooting people this time Yang. I would hate to put us into more debt to Weiss."

"Sure you wouldn't," Yang's tone betraying her obvious suspicions.

"It's not like that at all, and I'm already tired of all the jokes and accusations. So unless you really want to clean the bathrooms for the next week then stop."

"Aren't I the older sister, shouldn't I be the one ordering you around?"

"Hahaha, no offence Yang but you're not quite captain material. You knew what you signed up for."

"Yeah, yeah, couldn't just let my little sister wander about the verse' all alone," Yang smirking with confidence. Ruby smiled to herself, she knew Yang wasn't lying, she was very protective. Thankfully she also listened to Ruby, which made her a perfect bodyguard. The two walked into the cargo bay, where Pyrrha and Blake were shuffling around the cargo. The ship jolted ever so slightly and the soft hum of the engines was silenced.

"Alright, let's get these into town quickly. We may be in the middle of nowhere but you never know when the Feds could come knocking," Pyrrha nodded and directed Yang to a few crates. Ruby moved to the weapons locker and grabbed her compactable rifle, her favourite and most cherished possession. The gun originally had belonged to her mother, she having used it in the war. Back then it was just a simple rifle, now after years of tinkering it was a whole lot more than a simple scoped rifle. The gun was Ruby's first foray into mechanics, now she knew enough to keep Beacon in good repair, well as good repair as was possible on limited funds.

She donned her jacket and walked out into the harsh sun of Sanders, a rocky, sandy and windy moon. She directed her crew as they made their way to the town, the occupant's moving hesitantly towards the ship. "Hello everyone! I'm Ruby, we are here delivery some goods," Ruby shouted from a distance, the crowd standing at a safe distance. From the middle of the group burst forth a man in simple green clothes, "Ruby, good to see you." Ren stepped forward and the two embraced in a hug. He then turned towards the rest of the crew and gave a few waves and nods of greetings as they walked down from the ship laden with heavy crates. Yang spoke up before any more pleasantries could be exchanged, "hey can we move this along, would not mind putting this thing down."

Ren waved Yang towards the drop off point, the crowd slowly returning to their everyday lives at Ren's insistence. "What's going on around here, everyone seems just a tad too suspicious?" Ren helped the crew move the rest of the crates as he answered Ruby's question.

"A lot of bad luck out here, we have had several opportunistic people try and take advantage of these people. That's why this shipment is sadly necessary."

"How did you deal with them before?" Ruby genuinely curious, Ren just smile softly

"I simply read them some scripture and convinced them of the error of their ways."

"Sure thing preacher," Ruby chuckled to herself. Ren had always been something of a mystery, a man of God wandering the border planets doing what he could to help those who needed it. He had used Beacon for a few trips to and from before, so he was well known to the crew. She left Yang, Blake and Pyrrha to deal with the final crates. There was something about the settlement that sparked her curiosity. Ruby made her way through the town, taking stock of the small, barley populated town. She guessed there was room for something like four hundred people, yet she estimated that currently there was only around two hundred. Towns like these didn't waste time building pointless buildings, perhaps Ren had understated the troubles the town was dealing with.

"Ruby! We might have a problem!" Ruby spun, and saw Blake come running up the main street of the town. "What's going on?"

"We picked up a ship on the sensors, doesn't look good." Blake huffing slightly after her run,

"Feds?" Ruby asked as she moved towards the ship, Blake shook her head in response her expression darkening. Ruby pursed her lips, she didn't like what Blake was implying. Together they jogged back to the ship, ignoring the continued anxious gaze of the townspeople. The two bounded onto the steel ramp of the ship, getting a strange glance from Yang, Blake broke off to talk with her. Ruby ran on, climbing the staris towards the dining area. She nearly knocked over Weiss as she ran towards the cockpit. "Watch were you are going dolt!"

"Sorry, sorry." Ruby pressed forward, stepping past Weiss quickly,

"Hey, what's wrong? What's going on?" Weiss following Ruby towards the cockpit.

"Get to your room."

"What? Ruby, what's happened?" Weiss now visibly concerned,

"Weiss we have a serious problem, it would be better for you to go to your room." Ruby pressed forward, hearing no response from Weiss, except her continuing footsteps following her. Ruby stepped into the cockpit to see Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren crowded over an active screen on the command console. "What are we looking at," Ruby's voice serious, cold. They all turned, moving aside for Ruby to view the screen. The image was fuzzy, Ruby tried to tap the screen to clear the image, causing Jaune to shuffle uncomfortably in his seat, "Uh, we still need to fix that power issue with the long range sensors."

"Always something wrong," Pyrrha mumbling beside him. Ruby leaned forward, examining it closer. The readings made it out to be a ship, a little bigger than Beacon.

"What's wrong with it?"

"What do you mean?" Jaune moving closer to look at the screen with Ruby,

"Look at the emission readings, that thing is on its last legs." Ruby pointing to the relevant readings,

"Oh…Yeah that thing is barely functioning," Jaune rubbing his chin contemplatively. Ruby sighed and looked to Pyrrha, the two exchanging a grimace before Pyrrha left the cockpit. "Um, what's going on?" Jaune glancing between everyone in the cockpit. Ren cleared his throat before speaking up,

"I believe that the ship heading towards us is piloted by Grimm." Jaune's eyes widened looking stunned for a moment before turning to Ruby. Ruby nodded,

"get us out of here as quickly as possible."

"Grimm? You mean they are real?" Weiss now asserting herself in the conversation,

"Sadly they are, and we have picked up traces of this ship passing the planet several times. It's one of the reasons the cargo was ordered." Ren slowly moving towards the exit as he spoke, "Captain I need to go to the town and grab some things before we go."

"Hurry it up, we don't have a lot of time."

"Wait, they are real?! Seriously, and we are not helping the people in town?" Weiss looking at the screen, unable to understand the data. Ruby's tone remained cold, "We brought them a shipment of weapons, that's what was in the crates. Chances are the Grimm are just doing another pass, like the ones Ren said had been going on. Even if they do attack we don't have the room for many more people, and we don't have time to load them all. We have done all we can, so we leave." Ruby left the cockpit, leaving Weiss standing in shock. She watched Ruby go, slightly shocked by her sudden change in attitude. It didn't feel like the Ruby that had brought her on board or had defended her, but in the end Weiss didn't know her very well. Maybe this was the real Ruby.

Ren rushed back on board, a girl with orange hair trailing behind him. "Who's she?" Ruby overlooking the cargo bay, having waited for Ren to return. Ren looked up to the rampart where Ruby stood, "She is someone that needs to come with us, please I can explain."

"Whatever just get her inside," Ruby raised her comm, "Jaune lets burn some dust and get out of here."

"Aye aye captain," Jaune's voice coming through the personal comm system. The doors of the cargo bay shut and the ship jolted as Beacon shot into the sky.

"Captain, we need you up here," this time it was Pyrrha's voice that came over the comm. Ruby started moving towards the cockpit, memories still flashing through her mind. Grimm. She hated Grimm.

"What's the problem," Ruby asking as she stood over Jaune's shoulder. Jaune didn't look up, too focused on flying,

"It's not making a pass, it looks like it might be heading towards the town… But I might be wrong… Pyrrha just wanted to know if you wanted to do something, or if, we keep going."

Ruby looked to Pyrrha, Pyrrha meeting her gaze, obviously trying to read Ruby. Ruby froze, her mind fighting with itself. She closed her eyes, the fear creeping up her spine. "Sis, we need to help those people." Ruby opened her eyes and turned to see Yang, in full combat gear, her shotgun resting over her shoulder.

"I mean they do have weapons, and stuff, they might be fine," Jaune's voice noticeably shaky. Ruby clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.

"Ruby, we can help them," this time it was Blake who was speaking up, now standing behind Yang in the doorway of the cockpit.

Weiss watched them all, standing down the fore passage she watched as the group discussed what to do. Yang and Blake seemed to be trying to convince Ruby to help the town, Pyrrha seemed resolute on not disagreeing with Ruby. Jaune was being Jaune, and trying his best to stay out of danger. Ren walked up beside Weiss, she turned to greet him, "You must be Ren, I'm Weiss."

"Pleasure to meet you. What's going on?"

"Looks like the Grimm are going after the town, they are deciding on whether or not too help." Ren visibly straightened at this, "If they are going after the town, even with the weapons they will be no match."

"Why not? What are they? I only heard stories, but it was pretty outlandish stuff."

"Well by nature they are pretty 'outlandish', some say they are beasts, some say they are simply crazed men. What is true, is that they are savage like beasts, in the guise of men gone mad. They carve strange red lines into their bodies, wear bones. We don't know a lot about them, but they are dangerous."

"Well…" Weiss stunned by the information, she had spent her life thinking they were just a scary bedtime story. Out beyond the safety of the core planets, the universe was a scary place.

"Fly towards the ship." Ruby made her decision, her voice silencing all the others, the silence drawing Weiss' attention. Ruby just focused her eyes on the sensor screen.

"Uh, what! Fly at the ship! We don't even have weapons to fight back!" Jaune frantic, eyes slipping away from the command console to look at Ruby with wide eyes. "Jaune, do what I say," Ruby stared him down, her usually sweet face completely serious.

"Do it Jaune," Pyrrha giving him a similar glance. Jaune sighed and spun the ship around, setting the ship on an intercept course with the Grimm ship.

"Jaune, lure that ship in, fly it over the mountains. Pull out all the tricks, let's see if we can't cause an accident."

"What do you want us to do?" Yang asked, her and Blake looking on intently.

"Get everyone down into the passenger quarters, if this goes wrong and we get boarded, keep them safe." Yang and Blake nodded and moved out of the cockpit.

Weiss stared at Ruby as she was escorted away by Yang and Blake. She saw the red haired girl's lips form a mischievous smirk. Ruby disappeared from view as Weiss felt Yang's strong arm pull her towards the guest quarters. She snapped out of her studying and kept pace with the others as they made their way through the ship. There was a seriousness about everyone know. Weiss could see it in the way they gripped their weapons a bit tighter, their minds desperately trying to focus on the present, and not think about what they were going up against. Weiss found it hard to empathise with them, she was still unable to believe that the Grimm were real. They had always been just another boogey man made to keep children in line. They were men sent insane by the darkness of space, they fed off negative emotions, they could smell fear. Or at least the stories said.

"Stay in your rooms, we will get you when we are in the clear." Yang's tone uncharacteristically serious.

"What if we don't 'get clear'," Weiss stopping in front of her door to ask her question, Yang turned with a face composed of fear and dark resolution, yet she tried to hide it under her usual bravado. "If we get boarded, we will try and fight them off. If that fails, start praying."

Ruby stood in between Pyrrha and Jaune's respective seats. Pyrrha had gone quiet, the way she usually did in times like this. Jaune on the other hand was chattering nervously, trying to keep his mind off what they were about to do. "There it is," Jaune's voice quiet and reserved,

"Good," Ruby's eyes focused on the Grimm ship. The ship's hull was burnt, the once silver hull now a charred black. Red paint, likely blood, traced lines across the ship, random pieces of other crafts welded on to patch damage, or to add makeshift weaponry. "Get as close as possible, try to pass over them."

"A-aye aye captain," Jaune still trying to hide his nervousness. Ruby studied the vessel, waiting to see if it would react to their presence. Jaune pushed the engines to max capacity as they got closer, everyone's stomach were in their throats as they shot past the Grimm. They passed within inches of each other, Jaune letting out a sigh of relief as he made the pass. "Captain, they are turning," Pyrrha's voice betraying no obvious emotion. Ruby gripped the back of Jaune's seat, "now it's time to fly."

Blake's hand became clammy as it tightly gripped her pistol. She looked to Yang, who held her shotgun in a similarly firm grasp. They exchanged a worried glance, both looking as if they were about to say something, but nothing came out. Blake had seen a darker side of the verse' than most people knew existed. She had seen and done things that would give anyone reason to fear and hate her. Yet like every sane person out in the border planets, she feared the Grimm. It was a bad way to die, tortured and abused to within an inch of your life, then eaten. "Don't worry, Ruby knows what she's doing. Even with Jaune piloting we will be fine," Yang saying to herself as much as to Blake.

"I hope so."

"Don't worry, Rubes and I have dealt with Grimm before, and we are still standing." Yang managing to pull off her usual overconfidence. Blake looked at her quizzically,

"What do you mean you have dealt with them before?"

Yang smiled forlornly, "ask Ruby about it, not my place to say." As she finished the ship jolted un-expectantly. "What the hell was that?"

"Jaune! I said left!" Ruby desperately trying to find her footing as the ship shot through the mountain range. Jaune spun the ship over the peaks of the mountains, ducking down behind them quickly to avoid the Grimm's weapon fire. "They are readying another set of harpoons, evasive manoeuvres!" Pyrrha calling out the enemy movements from her co-pilot station. Jaune did his best to dodge the harpoons, bringing the ship into a hard left bank. The first shot missed, the second scored a direct hit, the sound of tearing metal being heard throughout the ship. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit"

"Calm down Jaune, take us down, through the ravine." Ruby commanded him with an aura of confidence. "That's a tight squeeze! You sure!"

"Jaune just do it!" Pyrrha and Ruby said in synchronise. He just gulped in response, the ship descending quickly, "Captain, they are pulling us in," Pyrrha's voice still calm and collected. Ruby grit her teeth, praying that her plan wouldn't end in a fiery death for everyone. Beacon flew into the ravine, the walls growing closer as the descended further. The sound of tearing metal grew louder as the Grimm ship tried to stay above the ravine, the harpoon line growing taunt. Yet, slowly but surely it was dragged deeper into the ravine, the larger ship running out of room quickly.

Time slowed as they all held their breath, if this didn't work then they were dead. Ruby looked over to Pyrrha's console, watching the rear camera intently. The Grimm ship started to scrape against the walls of the ravine, at first only for a half second. Then it hit and outlying rock, sparks and scrap flying off from the ship. The line that connected the two ships strained, the Grimm ship now too large to fit through the ravine. The sides of their pursuer's ships exploded, the harpoon tore away from Beacon, a cloud of smoke and fire the only remains of the Grimm vessel. Jaune pulled the ship up quickly, just in time to avoid the slowly compacting ravine walls from destroying them as well.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, patting Jaune on the back before slumping against the wall. Pyrrha smiled, her hand grasping Jaune's. He smiled, slightly bewildered by the chase. Ruby spoke over the comm's, alerting everyone to their success. She faintly heard Yang cheer.

Ruby sat alone in the dining area, only a dim lamp lighting the room. Everyone else was well and truly asleep by now. They had enjoyed a small celebration at dinner, Ren having brought fresh food on board they managed to make a decent meal. Much to Yang's enjoyment, he also managed to bring a few bottles of choice liquor on board, at the insistence of the townspeople. They had drunk to their victory over the Grimm, listened to Jaune's exaggerated tale of the heroics of the day. Then they had all retired to their quarters, exhausted after a particularly stressful day. Ruby couldn't sleep, never could after an encounter with Grimm. She looked fondly at the picture she held in her hand. The woman in the picture, had long hair, tipped with red like Ruby's. She wore a military uniform, small child in her arms.

"Who's that?" Ruby jumped slightly, looking for the source of the voice. Weiss stood in her suit, head cocked as she examined the picture. Ruby tucked it away quickly, "just a family picture." She tried to sound nonchalant, Weiss just shrugged, not wanting to pry. "Couldn't sleep?" Ruby asked, trying to divert the conversation elsewhere,

"Yeah, too much on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Well up until today I thought the Grimm were a myth. Up until today I had never been to a border planet."

"That's a lot of firsts."

"Yeah, been having a lot of those recently." Weiss took a seat, her eyes downcast, obviously in deep thought. Ruby smiled cheerfully, "well I'm happy I get to be here for all these 'firsts'." Weiss looked up, studying Ruby's face.

"You are a strange person, you know that."

"Strange?"

"Yes, every time I think I have you understood, you do something crazy. You can be harsh, yet the next minute you are cheerful and optimistic. You get scared, but next minute you look like you are having fun." Ruby just shrugged in response,

"You can't be serious all the time, especially not out here. Mum always said to try and find the silver lining, the ray of sunshine on the cloudy day. Doesn't mean you shouldn't be worry or be scared, you just need to be able to get past that. That's what this life is all about, getting past the bad stuff, the tough stuff, and being able to live."

"Your mother sounds like an interesting woman."

"She was, she really was." The two sat back, both sitting quietly with their thoughts. They didn't have much, just enough to keep them going. As long as they had that, they would keep moving forward.